Open Your Eyes
by A. Zap
Summary: There are some things that no one, especially weapons, like hearing. Hearing that his meister is in the hospital is one of the things that Soul doesn't want to hear. Ever. Still, all he can do is stay by her side and hope she opens her eyes. Hints of SoMa.


**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Soul Eater or any of its associated characters. If I did, I would have a lot more money.**

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Open Your Eyes

There are certain things that everyone hates to hear.

However, there are things that weapons _really_ did not want to hear.

These things include what Black Star said when Soul picked up the phone.

"Soul, Maka's in the hospital." was probably among the top five things that Soul never liked hearing.

In a way, Soul blamed Kid for this. The shinigami had been sending him on solo missions, or missions with high-ranked meisters, due to the fact that he _was_ a Death Scythe and was technically Kid's weapon. As such, Soul was just finishing up a mission with Azusa when he had got the call.

After all, if Soul had been there, maybe he would have been able to reign in his impulsive meister.

Black Star hadn't been able to really give any details over the phone, so by the time Soul and Azusa had returned to Death City, he had a whirlwind of worst-case scenarios in his head.

Ignoring Azusa's demands to report to Kid, Soul instead went to the hospital. Black Star was waiting for him at the entrance, meaning Tsubaki was probably with Maka.

"What the hell happened?" Soul snarled, worry curling through his veins.

Black Star sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Walk with me." He gestured and Soul fell into step beside him.

"Maka was on her way home and she passed a building on fire. The fire department was on its way, but according to the reports everyone could hear that there was a kid trapped in there. And then the mom showed up and said that she'd left her daughter in there while she made a quick run to the store…"

"Let me guess." Soul could almost picture the scene. "Maka ran in to get the kid out."

"Yeah." Black Star confirmed. "But the building wasn't really stable anymore and began to collapse. She was close to the exit, so she shoved the girl out in time, but she was still in there when the place came down."

Soul froze right there in the middle of the hallway. Admittedly, that was not one of the thoughts that had crossed his mind on his way here (he'd been thinking more along the lines of her being attacked by a Kishin egg), but that was already pretty bad.

 _A building had fallen on Maka? A_ burning _building?_

Soul tried to suppress the panic that was threatening to engulf him. After all, Black Star was trying to talk to him.

"Hey!" The ninja got fed up and snapped his fingers in front of Soul's face, breaking him out of his spiraling anxiety. "She's going to make it. The firefighters got there not long after so they pulled her out."

Soul took a deep breath and pushed his hair back. "Don't scare me like that." He growled at Black Star.

Black Star's face twisted in sympathy. "Yeah, she's unconscious because of what the doctors put her on. She inhaled quite a bit of smoke and she may need to get some skin grafts in the future, but she's had worst. She'll pull through."

"Of course." The scythe tried to act nonchalant as if that should have been obvious, but he could tell that Black Star wasn't quite buying it. Hell, with his senses, the ninja could probably hear Soul's heart pounding like he'd just run a marathon.

The two of them continued on until Black Star halted in front of a room. "In here." He said, pushing open the door.

Soul followed him in and immediately spotted Tsubaki sitting next to one of the two beds within the room. She stood to greet him, but he was already looking past her to the figure in the bed.

Maka lay in the bed, still unconscious. There were bandages going up her left arm and hand, and a couple on her other arm as well. A few patches of bandages were on her neck and face, but any others were hidden by her clothes and the blanket. The edges of her hair looked a bit singed and a breathing mask was over her mouth, but considering that a burning building had fallen on her, she seemed to be doing exceedingly well.

He hadn't even noticed getting closer as he gazed at her, but in the blink of an eye he was standing at her side. The scythe jolted as a comforting hand fell on his shoulder. He looked up to see Tsubaki giving him a sympathetic smile.

"The doctor will probably be coming for another check up soon. Her prognosis is good though, Soul." She reassured. "Maka will be fine." With that, she gave him a final pat and followed Black Star out, the two of them giving Soul and Maka some privacy.

Soul looked after them a moment before sighing and sinking into the chair Tsubaki had just vacated. His eyes fell once more on Maka and he couldn't help the scowl that crossed his face.

How many times had they ended up in this position? It seemed that most times that they went on missions, one or both of them would end up in the infirmary or hospital. Usually it'd be because one of them was protecting the other. Still, it often ended up that one of them would end up sitting next to the other's bedside.

This wasn't from a mission though. Maka was supposed to be the one who played it safe in their day-to-day life. During missions, she could be as reckless as Black Star, doing everything in her power to win and to protect him. Here, at home though, she was the one who acted with caution. It was a dichotomy that Soul would probably never fully understand.

And he hadn't been there. Maka would be furious at him shirking his duties, but he couldn't help but feel that his duty to her was greater than anything else. He should have been here, making sure she wasn't making stupid decisions like running into burning buildings, or at least making sure she wasn't running into them alone.

Soul couldn't help the sigh the passed his lips. "Geez, Maka." He groused. "How many times are we going to end up here?"

After that, he really had no more to say, so he just sat there.

Before too long, as Tsubaki had said, the doctor showed up.

In a way, it was weird, because Soul was used to them ending up in the infirmary with Dr. Stein attending to them. This was the regular hospital though so it was a normal (relatively speaking) doctor.

"Ah, you must be Soul." She said as she checked Maka's vitals. He glanced at her ID badge to see that her name was Dr. Shelley.

"Yeah." He watched her go through the familiar motions. However, even with the others' assurances, he couldn't help but ask. "She's going to be okay?"

"Hmm?" Dr. Shelley looked up from marking Maka's chart. "Yes." She confirmed. "She was smart enough to douse herself with water from a nearby hose that someone had gotten out to try to keep the entrance clear, so that certainly helped with decreasing the burns. In addition to the smoke inhalation and the burns, she does have some bruising so when she finally gets discharged, you'll have to be careful helping her move about." She smiled though. "However, I think you'll be able to handle it."

Soul didn't respond though he felt a slight blush rising at the immediate assumption that he'd be the one taking care of Maka. He would be, and he'd wait on her hand and foot if need be, but there seemed to be hints of something more in Dr. Shelley's kind smile.

"In any case," Dr. Shelley finished, "she should be waking up soon if you wait a bit."

"Thank you." Soul said gruffly as the doctor took her leave.

He turned back to Maka, and now that he knew no one was probably going to be walking in, he gently took her hand. Her right hand only had a couple bandages on the backside of it, but he still held it gently.

"Looks like I'll be in charge of cooking for a while." He muttered.

Soul remembered the last time Maka had burned her hands. It had been from forcing herself to hold him when their wavelengths weren't matching. He'd felt guilty because he'd pushed her away so much after Crona hurt him that she'd felt like they had to get strong fast.

Still, he was glad that that had worked out. And he was glad that she'd be alright this time, too.

He still felt a spark of guilt that he hadn't been there to protect her though.

Maka hated the thought of having to be protected, being the very independent person she was, but he couldn't help himself. She was different.

Now, if only she'd open her eyes, then he could just move on without having to worry like this. A glimpse of her mint green eyes would reassure him that it'd be okay.

That's how he always felt when it was her that ended up lying on the hospital bed, unconscious.

Soul didn't know how long he'd been there, but at some point he fell asleep. He knew that because it was a twitching of the hand clasped in his own that startled him from his nap. He jolted upright, and saw that, no, he wasn't just imagining Maka's hand moving.

He also noticed that it was probably way past visiting hours and he felt grateful for the doctor and nurses for letting him stay.

Still, Soul turned towards Maka and saw that her face was scrunching up the way it always did on the few occasions when he got up before she did.

"Maka?" Soul tentatively asked, squeezing her hand back.

Maka's eyes opened just a bit before shutting once more and she groaned. "Soul?" Her voice was muffled from the mask, and it also sounded a bit rough. She blinked her eyes a bit more, and finally she opened them fully, allowing Soul to see groggy green looking back at him.

"Hey," he said as he withdrew his hand to pour some water into a glass on the bedside table. Soul then helped her sit up and move the mask aside so she could take some grateful sips of water. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, considering." Maka's eyes cleared up with every second. She fitted the mask back over her face.

Soul knew that he should probably fetch the doctor to give her a onceover, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. He was just relieved that she was awake.

Maka was going to be okay.

"Mission go okay?" Maka said, as if sensing the lecture that Soul was just dying to give her.

He sighed and let her have it. "It was fine. Seems like you were in more danger just by staying here at home."

Okay, he couldn't resist adding that in.

She winced a bit, but she accepted the small chide.

A comfortable silence fell between them, but words didn't really need to be said, especially as Maka reached out and purposefully grabbed Soul's hand. He closed his eyes as he took in her soul wavelength lapping against him like the ocean. It was comforting.

 _She's okay. She's alive. She's safe._

Maka smiled, and he knew that she was feeling relieved too.

The two stayed like that for a while. Then, Soul frowned as a distant sound reached his ears. It seemed like a drone but it was getting closer every second.

"Oh, great." Maka muttered, rolling her eyes. Soul gave her a puzzled look until the sound fully registered.

"Maaaaaaaakaaaaaaaaa!" Spirit's voice hinted at his arrival moments before he burst into the room, his face a mask of tears and snot. "Baby, don't worry! Papa's here!" He rushed over to her bedside.

Soul let go of Maka's hand and backed off. Even he knew not to get in Spirit's way when he went into Papa Bear mode, annoying as it was.

He watched the interaction between father and daughter, and he couldn't help the smile that began to grow on his face. Things between them ended as they always did.

"Maka Chop!"

Yeah, things were going to be fine.

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 _AN: Just an idea that came to me a while back that I hadn't had a chance to write. Though I don't come out and say it, this is a SoMa fic, so I hope you enjoyed it._


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